Multiple Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta jet from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics reported they assessed five patients, and transported three of them to hospital with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the representative added, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that now take off worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the jet stream level are expected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.